My aunt has memories of her parents, grandparents, and great-grandmother. My mom has grandchildren, great-grandchildren and possibly (soon) great-great-grandchildren. These people know the low-down on the family!

How to Get Memorable Grandparent Stories

The sad truth is, I’ve never met a family history person who doesn’t regret asking about family stories while their parents or grandparents were still alive. This is one of those instances when time really does matter. Here are some of my favorite ways to get those stories:

Instead of going to my mom with a list of questions (which I have done) I like sitting down with her and just chatting about a single thing. Something interesting always comes up. The video below is an example of this random kind of conversation.

Make a list of questions, but don’t try to get all of them answered at the same time. If your grandparents are elderly, they’ll love talking to you about their life but they do have limited energy.

Video them telling a specific story. Some grandparents are video-phobic, but if you can get them talking they’ll more than likely forget about the smartphone you’re holding.

Have a list of topics on hand when you go to visit. Your topics might be World War II, Vietnam, the Great Depression, first trip to Europe, first job, first true love. The topics are endless.

If you live long distance, get an app on your phone that will record the conversation. It’s terrible to just hear a great story and you didn’t have any way to record it.

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Hi, I’m Nancy Hendrickson

Thanks for stopping by. I'm the author of the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com and an instructor at Family Tree University. This photo was taken while I was visiting the farm where my dad and grandmother were born.